Chapter 1

  "Damn, I look bad ass." Reena finally decided after evaluating herself on the floor length mirror, "As I should!" She gloated. The red dress provided by the agency was simply stunning, designed to capture attention and hold it.

 “Agent 13! I am going to need you at full alert for this mission, I will not have you distracted.” A voice suddenly commanded from the doorway, and Reena whirled around in surprise, resisting the sudden urge to cross her hands around her chest defensively; it would be seen as a sign of weakness.

“Chief,” She tried to say calmly, hating the weak way her lips breathed out the sound. He smirked before pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning on and watching her for God knows how long.

He pushed even closer till she was trapped between the mirror she had once loved and his body, his thin lips curled into a smirk and his arrogant eyes glimmered with power and lust. Reena was beautiful and she knew it, but in situations like this, her beauty felt like a curse.

“You have always been nothing but a pretty face agent.” He breathed huskily, his lips lightly skimming her ears, and his slimy hands creeping to her thighs.

“How about a show of gratitude huh? I think I deserve it.” He continued, his hands climbing up her stomach and dangerously close to her breasts when two sharp raps at the door interrupted them, and Reena could not help the gusts of air that left her at the perfectly timed interruption.

“Agent, final briefing at ten!” Her closest thing to a friend William Bates, also known as agent 9 yelled professionally from behind the door, and the Chief yanked his prying hands from her body as if she was made of hot coal, after all there was nothing he valued more than his fucking fake reputation.

Reena pushed past him as quickly as she could, not about to risk  William walking away and leaving her with him a second time, but judging from the smoldering gaze behind her, she knew the Chief was only getting started, and the pit in her stomach grew.

“We are trusting you with this Agent 13, get in, get under the skin of the older Thorne brother and seduce the codes to the safe out of him.” Agent Zero barked and Reena nodded, every vulnerability and signs of weakness she had betrayed to the Chief was nowhere to be seen now.

“You have been trained specifically for a day like this Agent,” He gave her a sharp nod of encouragement.

“Your superiors are watching.” Reena glanced around at the glass windows showing nothing but her reflection, but she knew that they were all seated at the other side of the glass and watching her closely.

“Extraction?” She asked stiffly, knowing that somewhere out there, the Chief firmly had his eyes on her.

“The extraction team is on it, the french windows on the south wing of the safe room are being replaced with fake glass, crash through it and fall, we will take care of the rest.” Agent Zero’s monotone voice droned on and Reena gulped a sudden accumulation of saliva, they were talking of a likely 300 feet!

“Got it,” She nodded, securing her dagger strap through the slit of her dress, seducing a man with mental health issues? No problem, but free falling from a distance of three hundred feet? All bets were off!

~

Reena stared at the sprawling mansion that laid before her with disbelief and awe, it stood out like a fucking beacon of luxury amidst the stunning but dense forest that surrounded it, its sleek modern architecture cutting through the wilderness with a sense of regality, and most of the building itself was clad in glossy glass, the windows tinted to hide the madness within.

“Ma’am your invitation card please.” The buff security guard at the entrance demanded, and Reena extended the stiff emboldened gold card in her hand, making sure to flash the diamond bracelet in her hand to get rid of whatever doubts the security guard might have, and judging from the look in his eyes, it worked.

As she stepped through, her trained eyes noted the state of the art security cameras sweeping back and forth like watchful eyes. Guards towers dotted the perimeter of the wide expanse of the compound, the whole place was as tight as a fucking prison cell, Reena thought.

Tying the glittery diamond studded mask around her face, Reena prowled the ballroom. The ball was in full swing now, and the whispers of men and women belonging to the highest part of society washed through the huge ballroom like the smooth  feeling of expensive wine.

Despite the sweet taste of romance and hints of lusts in the air as expensively dressed men and women glided through the floor and the perfectly placed lights touching their skin with erotic hands, Reena could still see with her trained eyes the cloud of budding danger in the air, and she could hear with her trained ears, the whispers of deadly secrets.

In that moment Reena could so clearly see the difference between the rich and the poor, the poor would have savored moments like this, and the hall would be washed with true and genuine laughter that wrapped around everyone like wisps of silks and silver memories, but though the rich did laugh, it was as heady and dangerous as sweet wine as they placed their stakes in games no one else knew the rules to, and laughed with allies as they danced with foes.

Shaking off the dark allure of the ballroom and remembering the tasks at hand, Reena hoped her wide eyed expression had not caught any unwanted attentions, but a burning feeling made her realize that she could not be more wrong, glancing around quickly, Reena caught the eyes of a man watching her from the banisters above and gasped, the piercing silver eyes making her realize she had caught the eyes of a Thorne brother and for the wrong reasons.

He was suspicious of her already, Reena realized, but no worries, all she had to do now was make him intrigued. Gulping down the glass of expensive champagne she had grabbed off a server, Reena sashayed to a bored looking man with dirty blonde hair and arrogant blue eyes, all the while making sure that the attention of the Thorne above was still on her.

“Looking for something Angel?” The blonde man asked with a condescending smirk, and Reena was tempted to swipe at his cheek and maybe break a jawline for the way his blue eyes lingered on her chest.

“A dance.” Reena purred and he took the bait by grabbing her hands and leading her out to the dance floor.

His arms wrapped around her waist, while her hands slowly crept up his chest to  encircle his neck, making sure he felt every movement, and by the low groan he emitted, it worked and Reena was tempted to laugh, men were such weak visual creatures, slaves to her every move.

Swaying her hips, she pressed even closer to him, enjoying his deep intake of breath. Turning sharply, she took his hands in her’s and pressed them to her sides as she let him feel the sensual curve of her waist and she deliberately swept out a toned leg from the slit of her dress, giving him a tantalizing view of her caramel leg that was both a glimpse and a promise.

Swinging her head back in fake euphoria, her lips parted to utter a fake moan that sounded like a different kind of music in the dimly lit ballroom, and Reena could see the lips of the man upstairs form into a sensuously amused smirk, and she prayed for him to also take the bait, he was an essential part of her assignment, and she was frankly tired of the fumbling man behind her. The Thorne brother upstairs definitely seemed more interesting.

“Excuse me Ma’am.” One of the guards interrupted the tedious tango, and Reena turned to him with joy, ignoring the low growl of the male behind her.

“You have been summoned upstairs, and you are to follow me if you do accept.” He ended, staring at her with intrigue.

“Hell no! She’s not moving a step from here!” The wound up stranger behind her growled, and Reena laughed, yanking his hands from her body.

“Well then, lead the way.” She purred to the guard, enjoying the enraged yell behind her.

“You will pay for this you little slut!” 

Ignoring him, Reena focused on climbing up the stairs, trying to shake off the chill that kept growing as she climbed up the dimly lit stairs. The Thornes were smart, and she might die before getting the codes, but still she climbed up, determined to tango with a viper.